Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills

The Colts lost to the Jaguars in Jacksonville, 30-10, in Week 13 for their third straight, and sixth loss in seven games. The Colts have the NFL's second-worst scoring margin at -125 (Cleveland: -132) and the team's worst margin through 12 games since 2011 (-184).

The Bills were defeated by the Patriots at home, 23-3, last Sunday. Dating back to 2012, Buffalo is just 2-9 against New England with both victories happening at Gillette Stadium. This was Buffalo's third loss by 20 points or more this season, tied for the fourth-most in the NFL.

The Colts and Bills last faced off in Week 1 of the 2015 season with Buffalo coming away with the 27-14 home victory. Dating back to the 2000 season, the Bills are just 2-7 against the Colts, their third-worst record against any AFC opponent (Pittsburgh: 0-6 and New England: 5-30).

Jacoby Brissett was sacked four more times last week against Jacksonville and has now been sacked 47 times on the season. This is the most sacks through a quarterback's first 12 games of the season since Steve Beuerlein also was sacked 47 times through his first 12 games with Carolina in 2000.

Tyrod Taylor was injured during the fourth quarter of Buffalo's loss to New England last week. Nathan Peterman stepped in and completed 6-for-15 passes for 40 yards to finish off the game for the Bills. Since 2015, Buffalo is 21-19 in games that Tyrod Taylor has started, but are 0-4 in games he does not start.

T.Y. Hliton has now played 90 games in his career with the Colts. Hilton's 415 catches and 6652 receiving yards are both second most in franchise history through 90 career games (Marvin Harrison -- 508 receptions and 6854 yards). His 34 receiving touchdowns is tied for the seventh most in franchise history through 90 games.

The Buffalo Bills host the Indianapolis Colts, who have already been eliminated from the playoff race.

The Bills, at 6-6, still have a glimmer of hope for an AFC wild-card slot. The Bills can ill-afford a slip up versus the Colts and could be handcuffed without quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

Taylor was injured in the 23-3 loss to the New England Patriots last week. Although the injury was not severe to his knee, the mobile quarterback was hampered enough to be unable to finish the contest.

In most cases, Indianapolis' defensive-minded head coach, Chuck Pagano would work on two defensive game plans: one to stop Taylor and the other to focus on rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman. But since neither quarterback has played particularly well this season, Pagano and his troops will focus their attention on stopping Bills running back LeSean McCoy.

McCoy has rushed for 851 yards on the season, which ranks sixth in the NFL. He is tied with New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram with nine rushes over 20 yards.

Buffalo's run game averages 122 yards an outing and is ranked eighth in the NFL. Indianapolis will have to limit the explosive runs by McCoy and attack the football. McCoy has fumbled three times this season.

Turnovers have stagnated the offense all season. Whether they are fumbles or interceptions, the Bills' offense is struggling and will need to right the ship in Indianapolis.

"It's frustrating, yeah," McCoy said. "We had opportunities to capitalize on them earlier in the game. Not sure if that will make a difference between win or loss, but it will sure help it out. We were driving. Running, throwing, running, throwing. Then we had a turnover that hurt us."

This quote came after the loss versus the Patriots but could have been after almost any Bills' game in the 2017 season.

Whomever plays for the Bills at quarterback could be primed for a huge game if they can manage the game effectively and efficiently. The Colts are without their starting cornerbacks. Rashaan Melvin is out with a hand injury and Pierre Desir was placed on injured reserve this week with a torn muscle in his shoulder.

The Colts will have to depend on Quincy Wilson, Nate Hairston and Kenny Moore, all of them rookies, as the team faces the Bills. The trio struggled mightily in the loss to Jacksonville in Week 13.

Buffalo's offensive coordinator Rick Dennison needs to find a way to get a semblance of a passing attack going against the injury-ravaged Colts secondary.

The Bills also have a defensive-minded head coach in Sean McDermott. The Bills defensive unit has been Jekyll and Hyde this season. If McDermott wants to make the playoffs in his initial season as a NFL head coach, he will need the defense to play the good role the rest of the schedule.

The Colts enter the game fighting simply for pride at 3-9 and quarterback Jacoby Brissett is looking to simply make it out of the season in one piece. The former Patriot has been hot and cold in terms of production but has taken a beating behind a below average offensive line.

"Jacoby is tough. It's possible all the hits he's taken this year have begun to take a toll," Pagano said. "(But) you keep going. You keep playing. That's what you do, because you love ball."

Getting pressure on Brissett will be the key for a Bills defense that ranks 27th in the NFL, allowing 361.6 yards per game. While this sounds like an easy task, Buffalo is tied with Sunday's opponent, the Colts, producing only 20 sacks on the season. The only team with fewer is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 17.

With the season lost for Indianapolis, the team will look to ride running back Frank Gore's legs in the last four games. Gore is 19th in the NFL in yards with 632. While the former San Francisco 49er is averaging a career-worst 3.6 yards a rush, Gore is currently fifth in NFL history in total rushing yards with 13,697 yards. Gore is 404 yards behind fourth place and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Curtis Martin.